Comparison of voltammetric and high performance liquid chromatographic methods for ascorbic acid determination in infant formulas

Two methods — voltammetric and high performance liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) — useful for determining ascorbic acid in foods, were compared to ascertain which of them could be used for routine determination of ascorbic acid in infant formulas. Both methods were used to assay 10 identical samples of an adapted cowʹs milk infant formula and 10 samples of soya protein formula. Precision was determined, the variance of each method was measured, and the methods were compared with each other. The variances of the two methods were not statistically different nor was there any significant difference between the results from the two methods. Therefore, it was concluded that both methods can be used for determination of ascorbic acid in infant formulas. The voltammetric method, because of its simplicity, cheapness and less time-consuming nature, could be used for routine determination.